oh, btw.

i'm guest posting over at bbl today! go check it out. i'll give you a little hint as to what my guest post is about. there's a little of this:

and a little of this:

get over there!

♥ ♥

happy friday.

make it a good one.

♥ ♥

shot with my Olympus Stylus Zoom 140 Deluxe/black & white 35mm film

top 5 reasons why you should watch Sherlock:

today, i'm here to give you the top 5 reasons you should take a day and watch Sherlock:

1) its a British t.v. show, airing on BBC (where, Doctor Who also airs. clearly, they have impeccable taste in what types of shows to air on their channel. in addition to that, Steven Moffat who writes, let's be honest, some of the best Doctor Who episodes, also co-writes Sherlock). British t.v. shows = British actors which =s British men. aka, the best kind of men. (yes, that's a legitimate reason)

2) each season (there are 2 so far) only has 3 episodes. but they are intricate, long, exciting, quick paced episodes. this means, you can sit down and watch them basically all in one day. if its a Saturday. but it still is an investment of emotion which, let's be honest, is why we all get addicted to the shows we do, correct? - by the season finale of season one (aka, the third episode) i was going, "whaaaaaa? i want moooooore!"

3) its based on Arther Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes (duh) and the Sherlock in this adaptation is just as witty and clever as ever. -- i love the twist BBC has put on it by setting the series in modern day. same Sherlock, same Watson, same 221 B Baker Street, different time period. love.

4) Martin Freeman. not reason enough? eff you, he won a BAFTA.

5) B-E-N-E-D-I-C-T  C-U-M-B-E-R-B-A-T-C-H. (and here is where i go into my sub-reasons) a) um, he has the absolute best name in the entire universe. don't you want to watch it just to see who the heck Benedict Cumberbatch is? b) he is the perfect Sherlock. his portrayal is probably my favorite portrayal of Sherlock (sorry RDJ) c) he's British (again, a legitimate reason). d) he's up and coming, guys. he was in The Atonement and The Other Boleyn Girl but he also just did Tinker Tailor Solider Spy and War Horse annnnd he's in the next Star Trek film that's coming out. you'll thank me later when you're sitting in the theatre going 'hey! i know who that guy is!'.

there you go. 5 reasons to watch one of the most spectacular shows ev-er. i bet you want to go watch it right now, don't you? go do it. you can thank me later.

♥ ♥
{all photos were found on google.com/images. i do not own any of them or the rights to any of them.}

i love film.

thought i'd share some more of my film photos with you. these were taken with a dinky little disposable camera and i love them.

{yes, those are all birds. BIRDS. and they were flying right. at. us.}

{clearly this was taken over the summer.}

{my favorite street in Texas.}

{me. at lunch. every single day.}

{a cool little spot my sister and i found to have lunch.

i love the shadow in this picture.}

{i love the sun ring on this photo.}

♥ ♥

my weekend will consist of the following:

what about yours?

♥ ♥

film photos.

around Christmastime my gem of a coworker donated to my camera collection an Olympus Stylus Zoom 140 Deluxe (takes 35 mm film) and an original Polaroid camera (takes 600 film which, by the way, costs quite literally an arm and a leg to purchase. gag me).i was all sorts of excited to shoot with film and decided to use a roll of black and while film that i had hanging out in my room to shoot my Christmas and New Years with.
guys? love.

{h, tracking santa. he was up at the crack of dawn and was mapping out exactly where santa was and where he was going next. i love his innocent belief and wonder for life.}

{hi.}

new years eve:

i'm definitely going to be using more film in the future. its a lot of fun to not see how anything turned out until you've paid for it and have the tangible "evidence" in your hands. but i still have a lot to learn in a way of film. such as, a good place to get my photos developed. walgreens? yeah, not doing that again. ever.

♥ ♥

why i love tumblr.

let me just talk to you about tumblr for a moment.tumblr is my fave.
absolutely.
i could probably sit all day and reblog photos that speak to me or rather, speak for me.and that's the thing about tumblr. you'd think that with me wanting to be a writer and all, i'd prefer words to express myself. but that's not always the case. i don't know what it is, but sometimes i will come across an image on tumblr that just resonates so deeply with me that its like the image was made specifically for me to see.
while some of what i post on tumblr is just silliness, most of it is an almost direct expression of my inner self; what i'm thinking about that day or how i'm feeling. my emotions can be described so beautifully through so many different images that sometimes, i feel like my words are completely inadequate.
in addition to that, there's an over abundance of fan-girling that can go on as well. while looking back over my tumblr, i realized i have posted quite a bit about star wars, doctor who and lord of the rings among other super nerdy things that i absolutely love.
that being said, i thought i'd share some of my latest favorite images with you. and maybe convince you to, if you don't already, get a tumblr.
without further adieu:

reblogged via.

created by risarodil.

reblogged via.

originally posted by riskybehavior.

reblogged via.

source.

reblogged via.

source.

reblogged via.

source.

reblogged via.

originally by.

reblogged via.

don't know where it originally came from.

reblogged via.

orignially posted by?

and those are just a few. really i could just spend all night reposting all of the truly lovely images that i find on tumblr.

see? tumblr is great. if you don't have one, give it a try! if you do, please leave your tumblr link below, i'd love, love, love to check yours out. (you can find mine here, if you so desire. but please, look at it on firefox not explorer. firefox shows it the way it is suppsed to be showed.)

♥ ♥

and so, we wait.

you know, i always have wondered whether its more difficult to stand by and watch someone go through something, or actually go through that thing yourself. i think the answer can be different for everyone; while some people might be strong and able to experience great trials in their lives, others may be better at being there for those that go through trials and offering support. i may never know. last friday, my baby sister (literally a baby, just turned 18) was diagnosed with a Phyllodes tumor in her right breast.

it is a rare and aggressive tumor that could result in breast cancer and/or spread to her lungs, heart etc. while my sister has always been one of the strongest people i know, she has handled this situation very well and taken everything in stride. i have not once seen her act the victim in this or as "why me?" she has simply absorbed everything that is going on and moved forward.
now, having the walnut sized tumor removed is inevitable for her and could happen as soon as this weekend, but tomorrow is, in my opinion, the hardest part: the biopsy. tomorrow she will learn whether her tumor is malignant or benign and how much tissue is actually going to be removed during her lumpectomy. - you know in the 20's and 30's when the newspapers were coming up on a big story and they'd print two head lines so they'd be ready to sell the story immediately no matter what the out come was? the young newsies would sitting outside with their stacks of papes, waiting to hear the news on which head line to sell and hope they had bought enough of that particular headline.

that's what i feel like tomorrow will be like for my family. we'll be those hopeful newsies, waiting for the headline. benign or malignant?
no matter what the headline is for tomorrow though, i know we'll get through it because we have not only each other but so many wonderful friends and family members praying for us and wishing peace and comfort our way. and in addition to all of that, we have a merciful Father in Heaven who has a plan for my sister and my family and i know that no matter what's going to happen tomorrow and in the future, He'll give us the strength we need to bear the burden he has asked us to bear. we are not alone in this. i know that to be true.

here's hoping for a positive outcome tomorrow! and cc, i love you, baby! no matter what happens, you got this.

♥ ♥

to read more about my sister and her outlook on life as she goes through this and other life experiences, check out her blog The Freedom Blog. tell her i sent you.

hi, my name is annaleese and i'm obsessed w/ polyvore.

until about an hour ago, i had no idea what polyvore was. then i found out and for the last hour (ahem, or so) i've been on polyvore.
i'm obsessed.

and to think i was making collages like these all on my own without the wonderful aid of polyvore. i will now and forever use polyvore for all of my collaging (yes i just used 'collage' as a verb) needs.

do you polyvore? if so, share your link below. i'd love to follow. if you'd like, you can follow me too!

Book Review: Graceling by Kristin Cashore

Synopsis: Katsa has been able to kill a man with her bare hands since she was eight—she’s a Graceling, one of the rare people in her land born with an extreme skill. As niece of the king, she should be able to live a life of privilege, but Graced as she is with killing, she is forced to work as the king’s thug. When she first meets Prince Po, Graced with combat skills, Katsa has no hint of how her life is about to change. She never expects to become Po’s friend. She never expects to learn a new truth about her own Grace—or about a terrible secret that lies hidden far away . . . a secret that could destroy all seven kingdoms with words alone.

My review: In short, I thought this book was beautiful. I immediately fell in love with the story and the seven kingdoms it takes place in. While in the beginning, it was a little difficult to keep track of which character was who, i quickly became acquainted with everyone and their place in Katsa's, the main character, life.
There was really only one part of the book that I felt I could have done without as I didn't feel it really had any relevance to the story, but other than that, I remained interested in the story the entire time I was reading. I appreciated the twists and turns the plot took and had a hard time putting the book down every time I had to stop reading. The thought of  a Graceling (someone who is "graced" since childhood with a special skill) in and of itself made for such an interesting topic but the way Kristin built a story around it just made for an all around excellent book.
Aside from the story, I think my favorite part of this book were the characters. I had no problem rooting for the heroes and hating the enemies and I felt each character was very strong and all were very relevant to the story line. Katsa quickly became one of my all time favorite heroines. (Which is saying something because I'm super picky about my heroines.) And Po. Oh, Po! I think the world would be a better place with a real-life Po in its midst. But even the sub-characters, Raffin, Bitterblue, Oll - all were likable and easily found a place in my book-loving heart.
As far as the writing goes, I really loved Kristin Cashore's "voice". She kept things fairly simple even though the story had some complexity to it. She also did a great job with making the characters relatable (I'm saying that's a word!) even though they live in a different time and place. Her writing is very easy to read but I felt still had a certain level of maturity to it that helped keep up its YA categorization. And there's a little bit of everything in this book: romance, struggle, heartbreak, suspense, action, and growth. It really is a great story.

If you're looking for a meaty book to snag your attention, I'd recommend this one. (Some parts of this book may not be suitable for younger readers).

Happy reading.